09/24 & 25 - A CP Newbie and Our 2-Day Visit

Well, this was a huge weekend! The start of Halloweekends, which is always fun, yet sad at the same time. (End of the season and all). I got my 100th ride on the Magnum. Plus, we took a friend of my daughter to CP for the first time in her life! We arrived Friday night just at 6:00pm, to find the main parking lot very sparsely populated. Drove around the peninsula only to discover that the Soak City lot was closed to the public! We drove back around., and ended up in a great spot up front anyway, but it meant a longer walk than usual to the Magnum. :(

We gave Katie & Amanda a cell phone, a meeting time, and turned them loose, so they could go for the Dragster. My wife wandered the park for a while, and I headed straight for the Magnum, which, as could be expected, was a complete walk-on. I started a series that would, before the night was over, take me over the 100 ride mark. Not up to Magnum Dan’s standard, but a significant milestone for the coaster newbie I am. :)

About halfway through the series, a guy walking near me on the way back to the Magnum entrance asked if that was a PointBuzz T-shirt I was wearing. That’s when I made the acquaintance of Guest of Exceptional Size. I introduced myself, and we proceeded to ride & chat for at least 4 laps. We did a front car, a couple of back cars, and a mid-train. We had a great time, and he clued me into the Gemini parking lot, which I had never used before. (Which I used the next morning, however! Thanks!) I really have enjoyed meeting all of the people who have recognized the shirt over the last couple of months. It’s a great icebreaker, and some of the Ride Ops seem to like it, too.

After a dozen rides in less than 90 minutes, I stopped, as my wife had shown up, and I introduced her to G.O.E.S. I also did not want to take my 100th ride without giving her, or my daughter, a chance to join me. My wife declined, so Katie and Amanda and I took numbers 99 & 100 later in the evening. Besides, it was dark, and almost 8:00, time for the fun stuff to start! We bid good-by to G.O.E.S. as he headed for some parking-lot refreshments, and we strolled back up to the Main Midway, where we met the girls, and had a giant pretzel.

About that time, a good friend from Sandusky met up with us. The girls headed for CarnEvil, and Karen, Tia and I went off toward the Fright Zone. We stopped to do a turn on the Iron Dragon, which was running very smoothly, with great mist. We hooked up with the girls to see “The Tell Tale Heart” at the Glassblowing Theatre.

Afterwards, we went Shopping for Christmas Trees, because there was next-to-no-line, and then we went back through the FZ. At the other end, we grabbed a near walk-on of the Wildcat. Then my wife & Tia headed for coffee at Donut Time, and the girls and I headed for the Magnum, and a couple of late rides. They were worth it! Ride #100 for me was a front-seat, front-car, trims-off, after 11pm screamer.

On Friday Night, Katie and Amanda did Dragster, Millennium Force twice, Magnum, and a lot of the other attractions. We stayed in Marblehead at the in-laws that night, and had a great breakfast the next morning, which included elk sausage which I cooked on the grill.

Saturday we arrived just at 11:30am, and I dropped the girls at the Marina Gate so they could do the Force first. Once again, it was cell phone in-hand, and call-me-later. My wife elected to hang with her friend Tia and do some shopping at the Sandusky Mall, and meet us later. So, I was on my own for a good part of the day. I parked in the Gemini Lot, and enjoyed the very quick walk to the entrance. I started out with six literal walk-ons on the Magnum, which brought my weekend total to twenty. It was breezy, and sometimes the trains were light, so some of the rides were trims-off, and some were not.

After those rides, I grabbed my camera bag from the lockers near the Magnum, and proceeded to give my 40 year old Nikon F some exercise. I took some very nice shots of the Magnum, some using the fixed 300mm, and some with an 80-210 zoom. Then I moved off toward the front of the park. Got some nice shots of Iron Dragon in the excellent mist, and the Corkscrew over the Midway. Rode the Skyride to the front, and had a latte and did some people watching for a while. After that I took some pictures of the Schwabinchen Lady in her mourning dress, and some very nice close-ups of some of the details on the bronze and copper statuary in the flower bed areas down the midway. Real tight shots, using the 300 fixed. Lots of crisp detail. I am looking forward to seeing them. Brilliant sunlight and very blue skies that day.

I wandered that way for a while, ending up in Frontier Town, after a ride with Judy K. There I ran into two guys whom I had seen the previous night at the Glassblowing Theatre. They were also taking pictures with vintage camera gear. In this instance, they were using a Graflex medium format, bellows focus camera, which could use either 120, 220 or 2-1/4 x 2-1/4 sheet film. Very, very cool. We compared vintage equipment for a while, and had a nice chat. I wish I had gotten their names. I had originally made their acquaintance because one of them had commented on my PointBuzz shirt!

Not long after this, I met my wife, as she had been dropped off near the Magnum entrance after shopping. We strolled to the front, spent some more latte cash at Donut Time and people watched. Then we did a tour of some of the classic flat rides. Calypso; Cedar Downs; Cadillac Cars; Troika; Ocean Motion. After that, it was about 5:30ish, so we grabbed some chicken strips, and hooked up with Katie and Amanda by the Skyride. They didn’t stay long. We arranged to meet them later, to see “The Black Cat” at 8:15pm, and they were off again to do the Blue Streak and some other coasters.

In the course of that two days, Katie’s friend, who had never been to CP before, got 12 of the 16 coasters, and took multiple rides on the Force and the Magnum. In addition, because of the strategy they used, they didn’t wait more than ½ hour for any ride, including the Dragster. It was a great way to intro her to the Best Amusement Park on the Planet

Following some shopping, we hit the CP & LE. We took a round trip ride, and there was some excitement, as the train stopped next to the Mantis, before the crossing. There was a major crowd on both sides of the tracks, and one of the gates on the Millennium Force side had failed to come down. The engineer went to the crossing, and they eventually used a yellow chain to block the crossing, and let the train proceed under the fireman's control. In a way, it was kind of cool, because the block signal just before the crossing, which is never anything but green, snapped red while I was watching, and that train stopped right now. (Well, as right-now as it can, since the locomotive is the only braking force available.)

Even with the delay, we joined the girls in time for the show at the Glassblowing Theatre. After that, we worked our way up to the front, did CarnEvil, and I left them to get the car, while the girls did their souvenir shopping, and my wife picked up yet more lattes. I had hoped to grab a quick Magnum ride, but it was not to be. Dragster was down, so that meant everyone was in line for the other coasters. They were out into the cattle pens well past the DJ booth.

We left the park at about 10:30pm, and drove home virtually alone on the roads. It was a quiet trip, as the girls did not make it past US 20 before passing out! Sorry this has been so long, but it was a big weekend. I have written an independent review of Halloweekends to be posted later. *** Edited 9/28/2004 3:51:38 AM UTC by Tank***

Good TR, I was there Sat and didn't notice any pointbuzz t-shirts, maybe I should pick one up to get to know more people.

The crowds were really heavy Sat :(

Looking forward to the Halloweekends review.

Great TR. I hope my trip next weekend is just as great as yours.

One question regarding the elk sausage, store bought or wild harvested?

One question regarding the elk sausage, store bought or wild harvested?

The sausage was home-made. The elk came from a hunting trip my father-in-law took a while back. It was really good, and it's always better when cooked on the grill. He also keeps me pretty well supplied with venison sausage, roasts & chops. :)

Thanks for the Trip Report, Tank. It was great meeting you and sharing a few Magnum rides. I look foreward to seeing you again, undoubtedly at the Magnum!

How was the crowds on Friday?

Sounds like a great trip. I have gone the past 3 Fridays, so I'm sure I have run into you, Tank, I just wouldn't know it. Next time I'm on the Magnum I'll look out for the t-shirt. I have to say that the 4 rides I took on Magnum were some of my best ever. The combination of insane airtime and a loose lapbar made it feel like i was standing straight up on the bunny hills. And I pissed some girls off behind me because I ended up blocking their picture. LOL o well it happens. :P

I thought the attendance was light both on Friday and Sunday. I wasn't at the park Saturday.

wicktwist, maybe they'll learn to sit in the front seat of a car. Besides, from the sound of it, it wasn't exactly so busy that they couldn't walk right back on.